Biomaterial Database

[Nitrous oxide-induced polyneuropathy]. 2017

S H P Conjaerts, and J E Bruijnes, and K Beerhorst, and R Beekman

Zuyderland Medisch Centrum, afd. Neurologie, locatie Heerlen.

Nitrous oxide, laughing gas, is used as a party drug to achieve a euphoric effect. It has been gaining popularity in recent years and is considered a relatively innocent substance. Nitrous oxide is known to cause subacute degeneration of the spinal cord by inactivation of active vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 plays an essential role in the synthesis of myelin. Hence, vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to degeneration of the dorsal and lateral columns of the spinal cord. Polyneuropathy is a less known complication. We present a 17-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man with subacute axonal polyneuropathy caused by laughing gas abuse. Abstinence of laughing gas and treatment with intramuscular and oral vitamin B12 suppletion respectively have led to improvement of their symptoms. Our cases demonstrate a less-known but treatable complication of laughing gas.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D009609	Nitrous Oxide	Nitrogen oxide (N2O). A colorless, odorless gas that is used as an anesthetic and analgesic. High concentrations cause a narcotic effect and may replace oxygen, causing death by asphyxia. It is also used as a food aerosol in the preparation of whipping cream.	Laughing Gas,Nitrogen Protoxide,Gas, Laughing,Oxide, Nitrous
D011115	Polyneuropathies	Diseases of multiple peripheral nerves simultaneously. Polyneuropathies usually are characterized by symmetrical, bilateral distal motor and sensory impairment with a graded increase in severity distally. The pathological processes affecting peripheral nerves include degeneration of the axon, myelin or both. The various forms of polyneuropathy are categorized by the type of nerve affected (e.g., sensory, motor, or autonomic), by the distribution of nerve injury (e.g., distal vs. proximal), by nerve component primarily affected (e.g., demyelinating vs. axonal), by etiology, or by pattern of inheritance.	Polyneuropathy, Acquired,Polyneuropathy, Critical Illness,Polyneuropathy, Familial,Polyneuropathy, Inherited,Polyneuropathy, Motor,Acquired Polyneuropathies,Acquired Polyneuropathy,Critical Illness Polyneuropathies,Critical Illness Polyneuropathy,Familial Polyneuropathies,Familial Polyneuropathy,Inherited Polyneuropathies,Inherited Polyneuropathy,Motor Polyneuropathies,Motor Polyneuropathy,Polyneuropathies, Acquired,Polyneuropathies, Critical Illness,Polyneuropathies, Familial,Polyneuropathies, Inherited,Polyneuropathies, Motor,Polyneuropathy
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293	Adolescent	A person 13 to 18 years of age.	Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D013118	Spinal Cord Diseases	Pathologic conditions which feature SPINAL CORD damage or dysfunction, including disorders involving the meninges and perimeningeal spaces surrounding the spinal cord. Traumatic injuries, vascular diseases, infections, and inflammatory/autoimmune processes may affect the spinal cord.	Myelopathy,Spinal Cord Disorders,Myelopathies,Spinal Cord Disease,Spinal Cord Disorder
D014805	Vitamin B 12	A cobalt-containing coordination compound produced by intestinal micro-organisms and found also in soil and water. Higher plants do not concentrate vitamin B 12 from the soil and so are a poor source of the substance as compared with animal tissues. INTRINSIC FACTOR is important for the assimilation of vitamin B 12.	Cobalamin,Cyanocobalamin,Cobalamins,Eritron,Vitamin B12,B 12, Vitamin,B12, Vitamin
D014806	Vitamin B 12 Deficiency	A nutritional condition produced by a deficiency of VITAMIN B 12 in the diet, characterized by megaloblastic anemia. Since vitamin B 12 is not present in plants, humans have obtained their supply from animal products, from multivitamin supplements in the form of pills, and as additives to food preparations. A wide variety of neuropsychiatric abnormalities is also seen in vitamin B 12 deficiency and appears to be due to an undefined defect involving myelin synthesis. (From Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 19th ed, p848)	Deficiency, Vitamin B 12,Deficiency, Vitamin B12,Vitamin B12 Deficiency,Deficiencies, Vitamin B12,Vitamin B12 Deficiencies
D055815	Young Adult	A person between 19 and 24 years of age.	Adult, Young,Adults, Young,Young Adults